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Brooke Henderson wins LA Open for 10th LPGA Tour title

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Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Brooke M. Henderson poses with her trophy after winning the LPGA's Hugel-Air Premia LA Open golf tournament at Wilshire Country Club Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

LOS ANGELES ā€“ Brooke Henderson rallied to win the HUGEL Air Premia LA Open on Saturday for her 10th LPGA Tour title, chipping in for birdie on the par-3 12th in an early back-nine burst and getting up-and-down for par on the last.

Four strokes behind leader Jessica Korda and three back of top-ranked Jin Young Ko entering the sunny, breezy day at Wilshire Country Club, Henderson closed with her second straight 4-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Korda.

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ā€œI definitely am a firm believer when youā€™re in the winnerā€™s circle youā€™re getting a lot of breaks and itā€™s sort of meant to be,ā€ Henderson said. ā€œI was making a lot of birdies, and I think probably the biggest break was 12, that chip-in. You know, those breaks can be really small or they can be really big.ā€

The 23-year-old Canadian birdied the par-4 11th to take the lead at 15 under, hitting a 144-yard shot to 3 feet of the back, right pin. She holed out from 70 feet from right and below the green on 12, and made a 6-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 14th.

ā€œJust tried to make solid contact and landed on my spot, and to have it go in was definitely a big bonus,ā€ Henderson said about the 12th. ā€œIt was going pretty hard. So it was a huge momentum change and a huge point in my round today.ā€

She bogeyed the par-4 17th to cut her lead to two. On the par-3 18th with Korda in position for a short birdie putt, Henderson chipped inside 2 feet for par after her 8-iron shot rolled off the edge of the green and into a low collection area.

ā€œDefinitely very clutch,ā€ Henderson said. ā€œThat is not where I wanted that tee shot to be, so to be able to get up-and-down there for the win was really cool, especially just after Jessica made such a great shot and put a lot of pressure on me to make par.ā€

The sixth-ranked Henderson won for the first time since the Meijer LPGA Classic in June 2019. She finished at 16-under 268 to break the event record of 14 under set by Minjee Lee in 2019.

Korda birdied the last for a 72, missing a chance for her second victory of the year after leading after each of the first three rounds. She won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January for her sixth LPGA Tour title.

ā€œReally frustrating, really couldnā€™t get anything going,ā€ Korda said. ā€œI was hitting it really good and then just it wasnā€™t happening for me for some reason. Just kept getting screwed and the wind kept dropping and then coming back up. .. it just wasnā€™t happening. I donā€™t know.ā€

She parred the first six and bogeyed Nos. 7 and 9, made her first birdie of the day on the par-5 13th, then gave the stroke back on 14.

ā€œI tried. I tried to force a couple birdies,ā€ Korda said. ā€œI had a great little 8-iron into the par-5 15th and takes the biggest bounce Iā€™ve ever seen and goes over the green.ā€

While Henderson made her move early on the back nine, Ko bogeyed the 11th and 12th in a 72 that left her tied with Australia's Hannah Green at 14 under. The South Korean star was coming off a two-week break after finishing seventh in the ANA Inspiration.

ā€œWas tough,ā€ Ko said. ā€œWind was difficult out there. ... I couldnā€™t focus on my game.ā€

Green eagled the 14th and birdied the par-5 15th in a 66.

Major champions So Yeon Ryu (68) and Angela Stanford (70) tied for fifth at 12 under.


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